variants
also ascetical
as in monastic
formal
relating to or having a strict and simple way of living that avoids physical pleasure
He committed to having an ascetic existence during his rehab. an ascetic diet of rice and beans
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Dissimilar Words
as in prude
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ascetic
Alice Gregory, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
In fact, the ascetic value of fasting from meat required that the person otherwise enjoy it.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 4 Aug. 2025
Cal Revely-Calder, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ascetic
Adjective
The scholarly consensus that af Klint chose to live a simple, ascetic life had downplayed her financial security, according to Almqvist.
—Alice Gregory, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
In fact, the ascetic value of fasting from meat required that the person otherwise enjoy it.
—Livia Gershon, JSTOR Daily, 4 Aug. 2025
Noun
With a few edits, the book could pass for an anarchist tract; with a few more, for the work of a Christian ascetic.
—Cal Revely-Calder, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ascetic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ascetic
Adjective
-
The reflective values of the Japanese tea ceremony trace their origins to a monastic routine.—
The Conversation,
The Conversation,
7 Jan. 2026
-
The rest of the temple grounds remain active, anchoring the depository within a living monastic community.—
Navya Verma,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
In fact, the prudes among us might need hand fans.—
Sandra Gonzalez,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Give the Original ‘Twister’ a Spin Barbara Peeters is no prude.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
19 July 2024
Adjective
-
Seizures of National Park protected land, destruction of our White House, massive banners of his photo draped on the Department of Labor and USDA buildings — please tell me how Trump’s authoritarian actions are any different from Vladimir Putin or Saddam Hussein?—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Yet the president told The New York Times on Wednesday that US oversight of Venezuela could last for years, following its toppling of the country’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
There’s often some kind of hitch, but still, most agents are straight arrows who play by the book.—
LEW SICHELMAN,
Miami Herald,
5 Feb. 2025
-
Purdy was such a straight arrow as a kid, his worst transgressions were playing doorbell ditch, Patchett said.—
Julia Prodis Sulek,
The Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2024
Adjective
-
Touching on his reputation as an exacting, demanding, sometimes even difficult director to work with, Cameron offered rare comments about a joke made at an awards show that still stings over a decade later.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Dec. 2025
-
The exacting, obsessive thoroughness with which Cameron has imagined this world is not an end in itself, however.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
16 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
For too long immigrants, trans folks, students, and working class people of color have been forced to stand alone, bravely battling these unrelenting attacks, without adequate protection from the city or state.—
Natalia Aristizabal,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Why, then, the unrelenting economic gloom?—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Stephen Miller made these comments on CNN and was adamant that this would happen.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Jan. 2026
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Although the film would have been far easier to finance if the production took place in another country, Hadi was adamant about shooting in his homeland.—
Alissa Simon,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Pärt, who has apparently retired from creative work, offers an output that is far more complex and contradictory than his monkish public image suggests.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Integral, too, to Dayal’s mythology was his monkish existence.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ascetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ascetic. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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